Pivoted spindle type shuttle for looms



Dec. 16, 1952 M, TAYLOR i' 2,621,683

' PIVOTED SPINDLE TYPE SHUTTLE FOR LOOMS Filed April 29, 1950 8 2 FIG. 6.

562 64 59- a 3 H k 30 27 37 4 I2 FIG. 3. 7;

M-M-rAYLoR J-M' FULTON INVENI'ORS ATTORNEYS I Great Britain Y '7 Claims.

. 1 iThisinvention relates to textile apparatus and particularly to looms for weaving fabric, andjis especially concerned'with the shuttles of looms.

gAccording, to the present invention a loom shuttle comprises a shuttle tongue pivoted at onefend for receiving a weft package, and means in the shuttle body for gripping said shuttle tonguev close .to the pivot thereof, between said pivot andthe free end of the shuttle tongue, in ,orderjt maintain said tongue substantially stationary within the shuttle body. By arranging the gripping means between the pivot and thefree'end of the shuttle tongue, instead of on the side of the pivot remote from the free end, a greaterspace may be left, in a shuttle of given length, for the reception of the weft package, and in consequence, a larger package can be used.

A convenient form of gripping means for the shuttle tongue is a stiff spring clip of horseshoe section, intothe jaws of which the tongue is forced asit'is swung down into the shuttle body. Theitongue, at the point where it is gripped by the jclip, is preferably made circular or partcircular incross section, instead of making it square as is customary in shuttles for the purpose of checking lateral movement of the tongue. The spring clip will then likewise be of cylindrical form. A clip of this kind can be made very stiff, and can be arranged to grip the shuttle tongue firmly over a large area, so as to hold it very. rigidly in the shuttle body. This is of greatadvantage when the weft package or pirn isjmade as large as possible (a desirable object which is assisted by the arrangement of the present invention) because the weight of the pirn has a tendency to cause the shuttle tongue to sag in the shuttle so producing a variation in the tension under which the weft yarn is drawn from the pirn during weaving.

Although the tongue is very firmly gripped and held in the shuttle body it is not difficult to swing it out of the shuttle body, e. g. for the purpose of removing an empty pirn and replacing it witha new one. For this purpose the leverage of the whole length of the tongue is available toovercome the force with which the tongue is held by the gripping means, so that the tongue can readily be swung clear of the shuttle body. On the other hand if the tongue is swung completely clear of the spring clip by which it is held, some difliculty may be experienced in replacing it. To avoid this difiiculty, stop means may be provided to limit the pivoting movement of the shuttle'tongueso as to prevent the butt s PATENT- OFFICE T rrvo'rsn SMPINDLE TYigE SHUTTLE FOR .1. M

Matthew Michael Taylor and Stephen Miller Fulton; Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to British Celanesc Limited, a corporation of,

Application April 29, 1950, Serial No. 159,062 In Great Britain May 11, 1949 thereof being swung clear of the jaws of the clip. This allows the tongue to swing only'so far that it passes obliquely through the jaws of the clip and holds those jaws open. The stop means may be constituted by suitably forming the butt of the tongue in relation to the part of the shuttle body in which it is pivoted.

The arrangements described above very considerably reduce the amount and the effect of wear occurring in the tongue-pivoting and locating means. Nevertheless, some Wear is still liable to take place, which may allow the tip of the shuttle tongue to sag. According to a further feature of the invention, therefore, means are provided, in a loom shuttle having a pivoted tongue located in the shuttle by the abutment of an element of the tongue against an element of the shuttle body, for adjusting the relative levels of the pivot and the point of abutment so as to maintain the shuttle tongue in the desired working position in the shuttle. This may be done either by adjusting the position of the point of abutment, whether relatively to the shuttle body or the tongue, or by adjusting the position of the pivot relatively to the shuttle body.

By way of example one form of shuttle provided with a shuttle tongue mounting in accordance with the invention, and several modifications thereof, will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the shuttle,

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the shuttle tongue mounting of Figure 1 in a different position,

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the elements of the mounting, and

Figures 4, 5, and 6 and 7 show three modifications of the mounting shown in Figures 1-3.

In the shuttle shown in Figures 13, the shuttle body 8 is of conventional external form and is provided with the usual recess 9 for the accommodation of a weft package (not shown) slipped over a tongue H pivotally mounted at one end of the shuttle. The tongue is formed with a projecting flange 12 against which the base of the weft package is located. The butt l3 of the tongue has a part-cylindrical surface at M but is formed with a wide fiat l5 on its underside. the fiat IS in turn being formed with a transverse V-groove l6 close to thefiange I2. The tongue butt l3 terminates in two knuckles I! which rest in a socket l8 at the rear endof a metal saddle I9 located in and forming part of the shuttle body 8. The saddle I 9 is formed, forward of the socket I8, with a flat portion 20 corresponding to the flat I on the underside of the tongue butt I3, the flat portion 26 having at its forward end a transverse V-sectioned ridge 2I constituting an element of the shuttle body adapted to be abutted against by the transverse V-groove It in the tongue butt I 3.

A cap 22 fits over the knuckles I! of the tongue butt I3 and is held in position by means of a screw 23 passing upwards through the socket I3 of the saddle, through the space between the knuckles I7 and through the cap 22 itself, which is held in position by a pair of lock nuts 24 on the screw. Between the knuckles I? and the socket I 8 is an oil-impregnated felt or fibre pad 25.

The screw 23 also serves to hold the saddle IS in place in the shuttle, the saddle resting on a fiat plate 2'! secured in the shuttle, through which plate the screw 23 passes before passing through the socket I8. The forward end of the saddle IS extends downwards and rearwards to form a hook 28 which hooks over the forward edge 29 of the plate 2?. The rear edge 35 of the plate 21 fits into a slot all in the wooden part of the shuttle body 8, While the front edge 29 is held down by a wooden pin 32 passing through the shuttle body 8 and through a pair of downwardly extending lugs 33 on the underside of the plate 21.

Beneath its flat portion 20, the under-surface 35 of the saddle is curved so as to form, approximately, a continuation of the cylindrical surface it of the tongue butt IS. The curved portion 35 of the saddle rests over a fibre pad 33 on the plate 2'! and, between the pad 36 and the curved portion 35 of the saddle is clamped a strong spring clip 3! of split-cylindrical form, the clip 31 being adapted to encircle both the curved portion 35 of the saddle and the cylindrical portion Id of the shuttle tongue when the latter is in working position. The spring clip 31 firmly embraces the butt I3 of the shuttle tongue and holds it in a position precisely determined by the engagement of the ridge 2| of the saddle I9 with the V-groovc I '5 on the underside of the butt I 3 and by the engagement of the knuckles I7 with the cap 22. The tongue I! can be raised, however, forcing open the jaws 33 of the cylindrical spring clip 31, for the purpose of replacing the weft package. The form of the forward edge 39 of the cap 22 prevents the shuttle tongue I I from being pivoted completely clear of the clip 3'1, the jaws 38 of the clip being forced open by the raising of the shuttle tongue and being held open by the cylindrical part id of the shuttle tongue butt I3 passing obliquely through them, as indicated in Figure 2.

The method of securing the clip 3'! described above avoids weakening the clip by forming holes in it, and enables the elastic properties of its full circumference to be utilized to grip the butt I3 and locate the shuttle tongue I I. At the same time, the clip can be readily replaced in the event of failure. In order to minimize the inconveniences of possible failure, the clip is split into two parts by a circumferential cut 48 extending from each of its free edges towards the point where the clip is gripped by the saddle I9. If the clip breaks, only one part, in general, will be affected; the other part will hold the tongue ll sufiiciently firmly until the next change of weft package, when the whole clip can be replaced.

The provision of the felt or fibre pad 25 serves the double purpose of lubricating the tongue pivot IT, IS and of enabling the pivot to be adjusted for wear. The elasticity of the pad 25 enables the lock nuts 24 to be tightened down so as to lower, slightly, the axis about which the tongue I I pivots. In this way the tongue can be fulrummed about the ridge 2I on the saddle I9, so as to raise the working position of its tip. For the purposes of lubrication, the pad 25 may be either oil-impregnated and supplied with fresh oil when necessary through the channel between the two knuckles H, or it may be permanently impregnated with grease or other solid lubricant.

The tongue-mounting means described above, except for the wooden pin 32 securing the base plate 2?, is enclosed wholly within the wooden walls of the shuttle, so that there is no danger of metal parts working loose and scratching or otherwise damaging the loom reed. Figures 4 and 5 show shuttle-tongue mountings which employ a more orthodox pivot, with a pin 43 extending through the shuttle walls. The pin 43 is made of wood, but wear thereof is eliminated by fitting a bushing 44 internally splined at 45 in the shuttle tongue butt 3%, through which bushing the wooden pin 43 is driven. The splines 45 grip on the wooden pin 43, and hold the bushing 44 stationary, giving a metal-to-metal bearing between the bushing 44 and the tongue butt 46, of which no metal is. exposed on the outside of the shuttle.

Figures 4 and 5 also show two alternative arrangements to those of Figures 1-3 for adjusting the working position of the shuttle-tongue tip by adjusting the point of abutment, corresponding to the points I6, 2| of Figures 1-3. In Figure 4 the ridge 2! is replaced, as the abutting element of the shuttle body, by a flat-topped projection Al on the saddle I9, and the groove I6 is replaced, as the abutting element of the tongue, by a flat spring '48 secured in a shallow recess 49 on the flat surface I 5 of the butt 46, the free end of the spring 48 being engaged from above by an oblique grub screw 56 passing through the thickness of the butt 4%. The tip of the grub screw 50 may be conical but is preferably in the form of a square-based pyramid, the flats of which are adapted to engage the upper surface of the spring 43 so that by rotating the screw by steps of A; of a revolution the height of the lower surface of the spring 48, engaging the top of the projection 41, can be finely adjusted. In Figure ,5 this arrangement is reversed. The butt 52 is provided with a fiat-topped projection 53 while the upper surface of the saddle i9 is provided with a fiat spring 54 engaged from beneath by a grub screw 55 similar to the grub screw 50.

Figures 6 and '7 show an alternative arrangement to those of Figures 1-3 for adjusting the height of the pivot of the shuttle tongue. The pivot is in the form of an orthodox wooden pin 57 whose ends fit into the walls of the shuttle, the pin 5'! carrying an eccentric bushing 58 fitting into the butt 58. The bushing 58 is formed with a ring of worm-wheel teeth 59 engaged by a worm 5Q rotatably set in a vertical cylindrical recess through the depth of the butt 56. The recess is shouldered at BI and the worm 60 is secured in position by means of a plate 52 which can be tightened by means of a screw 63 to hold the worm frictionally against rotation. The worm can be rotated, in order to rotate the eccentric bushing 58 and so adjust the height of the pivot point of the shuttle tongue, by means of a slot 64 in the top of the worm, the screw 63 bein temporarily slackened for this purpose.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A loom shuttle comprising a shuttle body, a shuttle tongue pivoted at one end in said shuttle body and adapted to receive a weft package, a stiff spring clip of horseshoe section fixed in said shuttle body and adapted to embrace and grip said tongue close to the pivot thereof in order to maintain said tongue substantially stationary within said shuttle body, and stop means limiting the pivoting movement of said tongue out of said shuttle body to an extreme position in which said tongue extends through but is still gripped by the jaws of said spring clip constituted by the extremities of said horseshoe section.

2. A loom shuttle comprising a shuttle body, a shuttle tongue pivoted at one end in said shuttle body and adapted to receive a weft package, a stiff spring clip of interrupted circular crosssection fixed in said shuttle body and adapted to embrace and grip said tongue close to the pivot thereof in order to maintain said tongue substantially stationary within said shuttle body, said tongue having a portion presenting a cylindrical surface to fit within said spring clip, and stop means limiting the pivoting movement of said tongue out of said shuttle body to an extreme position in which said tongue extends through the jaws of said spring clip constituted by the interruption of said cross-section.

3. A loom shuttle comprising a shuttle body, a shuttle tongue pivoted at one end in said shuttle body and adapted to receive a weft package, a stifi spring clip of horseshoe section fixed in said shuttle body and adapted to embrace and grip said tongue close to the pivot thereof in order to maintain said tongue substantially stationary within said shuttle body in a position determined by the abutment of an element of said tongue against an element of said shuttle body, stop means limiting the pivoting movement of said tongue out of said shuttle body to an extreme position in which said tongue extends through the jaws of said spring clip constituted by the extremities of said horseshoe section, and means for adjusting the relative levels of said pivot and the point of said abutment so as to adjust the location of said tongue within said shuttle body.

4. A shuttle according to claim 3 comprising, as the pivot of the shuttle tongue, at part-cylindrical knuckle at the pivot end of said tongue, fitting into a socket in the shuttle body, and a cap for securing said knuckle in said socket and capable of being adjusted in height relatively to said shuttle body.

5. A shuttle according to claim 3 comprising as the pivot of the shuttle tongue, a fixed pin extending into the walls of the shuttle, an eccentric bushing rotatably mounted on said pin and fitting into the end of said shuttle tongue, and a rotatable worm in the end of said shuttle tongue engaging a ring of worm teeth formed about said bushing.

6. A shuttle according to claim 3 comprising a grub screw passing through one of the abutting elements and adapted to determine the position of the point of abutment relatively to that element.

7. A shuttle according to claim 6 comprising, as the pivot of the shuttle tongue, 2. wooden pin having ends extending into the walls of the shuttle body, and an internally splined bushing through which said pin is driven, the shuttle tongue being pivoted about said bushing.

MATTHEW MICHAEL TAYLOR. STEPHEN MILLER FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 200,745 Mills Feb. 26, 1878 2,083,481 Spencer June 8, 1937 2,184,026 Turner Dec. 19, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 19,556 Great Britain of 1907 24,459 Great Britain of 1912 223,697 Great Britain Oct. 30, 1924 

